


Claustrophobic

by Crunching_Sounds



Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: Claustrophobia, Gen, Kinda, Nines discovers he's claustrophobic, RK900 and Gavin get stuck in an elevator, Whump, no fixed pov
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-11
Updated: 2020-01-11
Packaged: 2021-02-27 15:47:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,042
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22209658
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Crunching_Sounds/pseuds/Crunching_Sounds
Summary: “I think you’re having a panic attack,” Gavin said, his voice sounding almost as surprised as the look that crossed Nines’ face.“No,” the android said, “no it’s not possible for a machine to-“(I found my old fics from almost 2 years ago and rewrote some, I'm posting this one lolI'm leaving the original "Claustrophobic" up for a while until this gains some traction.)
Comments: 2
Kudos: 40





	Claustrophobic

**Author's Note:**

> I found my old fics from almost 2 years ago and rewrote some, I'm posting this one lol  
> I'm leaving the original "Claustrophobic" up for a while until this gains some traction.

Gavin glanced down at his watch as he stepped through the security gate, right on time.

“Detective Reed!” The familiar voice of his android partner caught his attention as he weaved through desks in search of his own, “you’re three minutes late.”

Gavin huffed, “shut up,” he retorted, ignoring Nines standing beside his desk.  
The android’s arms were folded neatly behind his back, posture stiff and proper, with an annoyed expression across his face.

Gavin sat down at his desk, turned on his terminal and leaned back into his chair, folding his arms over his chest, “any leads on the case?” He asked as Nines took a seat at his own desk.

“I believe so,” Nines replied, “I have a theory anyway, I’d like to double-check some evidence in storage.”

Gavin’s lip twitched into a faint smile, “Nice,” he said, dragging out the last part of the word for effect, “let’s go then, get this over with, Folwer’s gonna bust my balls if I don’t pull a rabbit out of my hat soon.”

RK900 gave a small nod, then stood from his desk and crossed the floor to the elevator, Gavin following suit.  
The call button dinged softly as Nines pressed a thumb against it, followed by several longer, louder beeps as Gavin repeated the action a little more impatiently.

Not a moment later, the elevator doors slid open.Gavin stepped inside, RK900 in tow, and hit the button for the basement.  
The doors shut with a soft clunk, and the elevator began its descent, groaning slightly.

Gavin thought he saw a strange look cross Nines’ face, just for a second, before returning to its usual neutral state.

A loud whine suddenly filled the cramped space, causing Gavin to wince, before the elevator jolted and all movement ceased, the faint electric hum dissipated entirely, giving room to silence.

“What the fuck,” Gavin groaned, hitting the control panel a few times in frustration, “c’mon you piece of shit.” 

RK900 spoke up, “What’s happening?” He asked, unfolding his arms from behind his back, frown on his face.

“Phuckin’ elevator stopped, obviously,” Gavin grumbled, not taking his eyes off the control panel as he messed with buttons he probably shouldn’t be touching.

“How do we get it moving again?” RK900 asked, stepping closer to look over Gavin’s shoulder.

Gavin stopped playing with the control panel and turned to the android detective, “We can’t get it working ourselves,” he said, tone slightly irritated, “unless you know something about these things I don’t,” he gestured around the box they were currently stuck in, “I’ll call Fowler and let him know what’s happening, he’ll get us some help.”

“How long will help take arrive?” RK900 asked, glancing to the wall on his right, before looking back at Gavin.

Gavin shrugged, “hell if I know, could be five minutes, could be an hour,” he said while dialing Folwer’s number.

“What do we do until then?”

“Wait.”

________________________________________________________________________________

The first few minutes passed without a hitch, but nearing the five-minute mark, RK900 began to feel uneasy, like the feeling when you know the suspect you’re looking for is waiting for you in the next room.

The walls of the metal box seemed to be growing steadily closer, the tightening of the room replicating itself in Nine’s artificial stomach.

Gavin, Nines noted, seemed oblivious to the fact that the walls were creeping closer, and was sitting cross-legged on the floor tapping away on his phone, by the sounds of it playing some time waisting game that would do nothing but waste the phone’s battery.

In a slow, deliberate motion, RK900 folded his arms tightly over his chest in a protective manner, drumming his fingers lightly against his arms as he looked towards the control panel which was now completely blank.

The temperature in the elevator seemed to be steadily increasing, RK900 suspected it was from lack of ventilation, though the vent on the wall was still pumping in a slight breeze.

Gavin’s voice suddenly pulled Nines from his thoughts, “Hey,” the human detective spoke, “are you just gonna stand there the whole time?”

RK900 glanced down at the Gavin, “I don’t see a reason I shouldn’t. Why? Would you prefer it if I stood someplace else?”

Gavin frowned, “No I meant- you know what, fuck it,” he waved a dismissive hand, looking back down at his phone, mumbling something Nines couldn’t quite pick up.

RK900 stood up a little straighter, pulling in a deep breath, androids didn't really need to breathe, not the way humans did, but it was a vital part of their cooling systems, and RK900’s chest felt oddly tight, as if the air he was pulling in was too thick.

The walls were still creeping steadily inwards, Nines glanced down at Gavin, who still had not noticed what was going on, before turning to look towards the doors again, brow furrowed.

A warning suddenly flashed across Nines’ vision, warning him of his steadily rising core temperature; his breaths came quicker and faster, the air density seemed even worse than before, almost suffocating him as he attempted to draw air into his ventilation system.

Minutes passed, the walls threatened to crush the elevator’s occupants, Nines’ artificial heart fluttered in his chest, causing him to feel lightheaded, his legs felt as if they were made of the horrible looking lime green jello Gavin kept in the staff fridge.

RK900 barley recognized Gavin as the human detective attempted to get his attention, his head suddenly feeling as if it were stuffed full of cotton.

“Hey,” Gavin’s voice only just made its way to Nines’ audio processors, “what the fuck is wrong with you?”

RK900 turned to fully look at Gavin, who was still sitting on the floor, “I- I believe I am suffering from some sort of malfunction,” he answered truthfully.

Gavin pocketed his phone and stood up, “Phucking- I can feel the heat coming off you,” the human detective held a hand in front of the android’s face, “what kind of malfunction?”

RK900 let his eyes roll back into his head as he performed a self-diagnostic, after a moment, his eyelids fluttered open again to reveal Gavin’s disturbed face.

“I am uncertain,” Nines admitted, “my systems indicate nothing of concern, apart from my high core temperature, which appears to have no cause…”

“What the hell is going on then?” Gavin asked, Nines wasn’t sure if he was annoyed or genuinely concerned, it was difficult to pinpoint his tone at the moment.

RK900 swallowed thickly, he wasn’t sure why, he didn't really need to, “I believe my ventilation systems may be malfunctioning,” he said, “the- the air, it feels too thick,“ he took a shaky breath, LED flashing as he thought, “and the walls, they’re getting closer."

Gavin’s eyes widened slightly, “are you- are you phucking claustrophobic?” He asked. 

RK900 swore in his disoriented state he could almost hear genuine concern in the other's voice.  
Nines shook his head, “No! It would be impossible for a machine to be claustrophobic.”

The LED on the side of the android’s head didn’t go unnoticed to Gavin as it circled quickly between yellow and red, “well, maybe you should sit down anyway,” the human detective suggested. 

Nines nodded this time, giving no verbal answer as he lowered himself to the ground, pushing his back against the wall as if he was keeping it from collapsing.

Gavin sat down too, a little ways away from Nines, watching the android detective closely.

Nines was suddenly aware of how much the walls had closed in on him, suddenly it was like someone was straddling his chest with their hands around his throat, he took a loud gasping breath, breaking what little was left of his cool facade.

“Hey,” Gavin said as softly as he could, “try taking deep breaths through your nose, let them out through your mouth.”

RK900 did as Gavin instructed, taking deep breaths through his nose and releasing the air through his mouth, he looked towards Gavin with wide eyes, “What’s happening?” He asked with a panicked voice.

Gavin actually felt bad for Nines, the other’s voice was unnaturally vulnerable, so much so it almost scared him, he wracked his brain for an answer as he watched his partner shake and struggle to pull in breaths.

Suddenly it hit him.

“I think you’re having a panic attack,” he said, his voice sounding almost as surprised as the look that crossed Nines’ face.

“No,” the android said, “no it’s not possible for a machine to-“

“Stop that,” Gavin cut him off, “stop saying that, you’re not, you’re-“ Gavin groaned, “just stop talking like that.” 

“Sorry,” Nines said in a small voice, letting out an unsteady breath.

Gavin’s phone began to ring, the sudden loud noise caused Nines to flinch harshly.

Gavin took the phone with an almost apologetic look towards his partner, “Yeah,” He answered as casually as possible.

“Reed,” Fowler's voice met Gavin’s ears, “the mechanics almost have the problem fixed, it was a simple issue, you should be out of there in a couple of minutes."

“Alright, thanks, Captain,” Gavin responded, before hanging up the phone and putting it on silent, returning it to his pocket.

RK900 stared at him, as if waiting for news.

“Fowler says the mechanics are almost done,” Gavin says, sitting back down, “we should be outta here in a few minutes.”

Nines let out an audible sigh of relief, his shoulders seemed to sag slightly, though Gavin could still see the android’s frame shaking, hands restless, fiddling with the hem of his jacket.

Gavin was at a loss of what to say, he hadn’t been the one trying to pull someone down from an anxiety attack before, and this was Nines, they had trouble talking without throwing in an insult or two in a normal setting.

Nines’ hands trembled as he messed with his jacket, trying to distract himself while looking as calm as possible, staring at the elevator doors, if he could sweat, he was certain he would be right now.

“Are you-“ Gavin was cut off as the elevator suddenly jolted to life, control panel lighting up, the electric hum resuming its song as the box restarted its descent.

RK900 was on his feet as quickly as possible, his artificial stomach lurched as he moved.  
Screwing his eyes shut momentarily, he leant back into the wall to support his weight, the skin where the wall touched his back threatened to retract, he swore he could feel the exact texture of the metal through his jacket and shirt.

Gavin stood up as well, watching his partner out of the corner of his eye.

The elevator chimed and the box stopped moving, the sound reverberating in Nines’ head, the doors opened, letting in a gush of cool, fresh air.

RK900 moved to leave the elevator so quickly Gavin thought he saw the android stumble over his own feet for a moment.

Gavin followed Nines out of the elevator, listening as the doors slid shut again, and watched as the android detective leaned back against the closest wall, fixing his tie and taking deep, controlled breaths.

“You okay tin- Nines?” Gavin asked, genuinely concerned for his partner.

RK900 nodded, trying his best to bring his expression back to one of neutrality, “I’ll be fine,” he cleared his throat, “I apologize for my behavior, detective, that was incredibly unprofessional of me, I will do my best to make sure it never happens again.” 

Gavin studied the other’s face for a moment, Nines looked almost ashamed.  
“Don’t be stupid,” Gavin huffed, leaning back against the wall a little ways away from Nines, “you don’t have to apologize for shit like that, it happens.”

“It should not happen to-“

“Yeah well it can, it does,” Gavin cut the other off, knowing exactly what he was going to say, “and it’s alright. We can use the stairs from now on, if you’d like, it couldn’t hurt, I’m so fit I’ll barely feel it.”

RK900 gave a small smile, relief evident on his face, “Thank you, Detective Reed, that may help prevent this from happening again.”

Gavin sniffed, “Yeah, yeah now, we should get started, what was that evidence you wanted to look at?”

**Author's Note:**

> vibe check


End file.
